New Grads and Temp Agencies

I had an offer for a contract position for 3-4 months with a temp agency that paid quite well for a new grad. I was going to take it, but I ended up very lucky with an offer for a FT position with a local hospital. I'm not sure what area you are in, but the recruiter needs many more nurses for the positions located in northern virginia.

I had an offer for a contract position for 3-4 months with a temp agency that paid quite well for a new grad. I was going to take it, but I ended up very lucky with an offer for a FT position with a local hospital. I'm not sure what area you are in, but the recruiter needs many more nurses for the positions located in northern virginia.

Congrats on the FT job!!! I am in Southern CA. I feel unsure about temp agencies because I heard that they are not working for you and place people into jobs were they dont belong. Scary for a new grad. But, I would love to get a better job then working at flu clinics.

Sep 10, '09

i am a full time agency nurse. Any agency that would hire a new grad is not an agency that i would want to work for! at all, period. this isnt safe either for you the new grad, or the agency, or the patients.

i am a full time agency nurse. Any agency that would hire a new grad is not an agency that i would want to work for! at all, period. this isnt safe either for you the new grad, or the agency, or the patients.

This is the kind of attitude that explains why none of us new grads can get jobs. I understand the concern that we are new and inexperienced, but how are we to become nurses that patients and employers can trust if we are not allowed to get our first jobs? I don't mean to sound snarky, but seriously, what are we supposed to do when no one wants to hire new grads? How are we going to get experience when there are no "safer" new grad jobs available that provide 12 weeks of orientation and preceptors? I'm getting really sick of people in the health care industry looking down their noses at us because we are "new". We were begged to go to school to become RNs to ease the nursing shortage, and now that we have our RN licenses, we are told that we are not wanted because we have no experience. Give me a break. Once all the older nurses start to retire and there is no one to take their place except for stale grads who have been waiting tables for a few years due to no nursing jobs, then that is really when safety concerns will come into play more than ever.

I am sorry to rant, and I mean no offense to anyone because I realize that patient safety is number 1, but does anyone have a real solution to this unemployment problem that exists for us new grads?

This is the kind of attitude that explains why none of us new grads can get jobs. I understand the concern that we are new and inexperienced, but how are we to become nurses that patients and employers can trust if we are not allowed to get our first jobs? I don't mean to sound snarky, but seriously, what are we supposed to do when no one wants to hire new grads? How are we going to get experience when there are no "safer" new grad jobs available that provide 12 weeks of orientation and preceptors? I'm getting really sick of people in the health care industry looking down their noses at us because we are "new". We were begged to go to school to become RNs to ease the nursing shortage, and now that we have our RN licenses, we are told that we are not wanted because we have no experience. Give me a break. Once all the older nurses start to retire and there is no one to take their place except for stale grads who have been waiting tables for a few years due to no nursing jobs, then that is really when safety concerns will come into play more than ever.

I am sorry to rant, and I mean no offense to anyone because I realize that patient safety is number 1, but does anyone have a real solution to this unemployment problem that exists for us new grads?

i was expecting this reaction.....i will emphasize...IT IS NOT SAFE FOR NEW GRADS TO BE EXPECTED TO DO WHAT I DO! any agency that would hire them is not an agency to be expected to have you back if anything goes south...i love to teach....this is not the melieu for that. i am not "eating my young" i am being honest.

i am a full time agency nurse. Any agency that would hire a new grad is not an agency that i would want to work for! at all, period. this isnt safe either for you the new grad, or the agency, or the patients.

i was going to say the same thing. i wasn't aware that there are agencies out there that actually hire new grads

Sep 10, '09

Sorry guys, agency is not the place to learn how to be a nurse. You already need to have a good grasp of nursing prior to agency. You will be expected to hit the floor running and a new grad will be at a severe disadvantage. A new grad needs structure, a good preceptor, and a year or so to learn the environment.

Sorry about the economy and lack of jobs; however, you put both your career and your patient at risk when you jump into this type of situation without experience. I did some agency work a while back. I had two shifts of "orientation" in a busy 15 bed ER. I was out on my own doing RSI's, conscious sedation, and setting up patient transfers. I was expected to pull as much weight as senior nurses and had no tech as it was an all RN total cate ER. Many facilities expect agency nurses to be experienced and will throw you to the wolves.

I am not sure I would want a new grad doing conscious sedation for the first time in a new environment without a preceptor. I understand it's difficult, but get some experience then go agency. There really is no process in place to mold a new grad into an experienced nurse.

This is the kind of attitude that explains why none of us new grads can get jobs. I understand the concern that we are new and inexperienced, but how are we to become nurses that patients and employers can trust if we are not allowed to get our first jobs? I don't mean to sound snarky, but seriously, what are we supposed to do when no one wants to hire new grads? How are we going to get experience when there are no "safer" new grad jobs available that provide 12 weeks of orientation and preceptors? I'm getting really sick of people in the health care industry looking down their noses at us because we are "new". We were begged to go to school to become RNs to ease the nursing shortage, and now that we have our RN licenses, we are told that we are not wanted because we have no experience. Give me a break. Once all the older nurses start to retire and there is no one to take their place except for stale grads who have been waiting tables for a few years due to no nursing jobs, then that is really when safety concerns will come into play more than ever.

I am sorry to rant, and I mean no offense to anyone because I realize that patient safety is number 1, but does anyone have a real solution to this unemployment problem that exists for us new grads?

welcome to today's economy and today's job force. what you are experiencing is not exclusive to nursing. there are more people going back to the workforce for needed money and that allows employers to be picky in new employees. that is why more and more jobs are wanting experienced nurses. there are jobs out there for new grads, you just have to make sure your resume, cover letter, and interview are better than anyone else

the problem with hiring new grads for agency work is that the orientation for the job isn't there. they give you a quick wrap up and send you out there. that is hard to do when you don't really have your fundamentals of the real world yet. add that to the other nurses that are working with you that despise you b/c you doing the same job for a lot more money than they do it for all the time. that leads to nurses that do not want to help you when you are in a pinch. it just isnt a good idea for new grads.

this is the kind of attitude that explains why none of us new grads can get jobs. i understand the concern that we are new and inexperienced, but how are we to become nurses that patients and employers can trust if we are not allowed to get our first jobs? i don't mean to sound snarky, but seriously, what are we supposed to do when no one wants to hire new grads? how are we going to get experience when there are no "safer" new grad jobs available that provide 12 weeks of orientation and preceptors? i'm getting really sick of people in the health care industry looking down their noses at us because we are "new". we were begged to go to school to become rns to ease the nursing shortage, and now that we have our rn licenses, we are told that we are not wanted because we have no experience. give me a break. once all the older nurses start to retire and there is no one to take their place except for stale grads who have been waiting tables for a few years due to no nursing jobs, then that is really when safety concerns will come into play more than ever.

i am sorry to rant, and i mean no offense to anyone because i realize that patient safety is number 1, but does anyone have a real solution to this unemployment problem that exists for us new grads?

yep i agree and i disagree with morte.i know an "older",very experienced nurse who adviced me to look into home health care since not even one hospital wants to hire so that way i will prevent forgeting all the skills/theory i learned.now the nurse who made the suggestion about the home health care is an excellent and safe nurse and i know for a fact that she woud not recommend anything that would jeoperdize the pt safety and my license.she just believes in new grads unlike many other seasoned nurse or nurse recruiters...and i agree with you that ones the baby boomers start quiting their jobs the hospitals will be desperate to hire us...but then they can shove it up down their....

welcome to today's economy and today's job force. what you are experiencing is not exclusive to nursing. there are more people going back to the workforce for needed money and that allows employers to be picky in new employees. that is why more and more jobs are wanting experienced nurses. there are jobs out there for new grads, you just have to make sure your resume, cover letter, and interview are better than anyone else

the problem with hiring new grads for agency work is that the orientation for the job isn't there. they give you a quick wrap up and send you out there. that is hard to do when you don't really have your fundamentals of the real world yet. add that to the other nurses that are working with you that despise you b/c you doing the same job for a lot more money than they do it for all the time. that leads to nurses that do not want to help you when you are in a pinch. it just isnt a good idea for new grads.

I dont know really...so how come a lot of my friends couldnt find an RN jobs one year ago when the economy was just starting to go bad.To be honest with you I'm not sure if I even believe that the economy is the major factor the hospital is using whether deciding toi hire new grads or not of not.No I dont thinks so.It got to the point that I dont even know if I want to work in this profession anymore.

Sep 10, '09

First of all, let me say that I am NOT interested in agency work what-so-ever for the same reasons you stated. That is not the issue. However, the person who started this thread was looking into temp agencies (I assume) as a means of getting some work for a few months until new grad positions open up. I would not go this route myself, but it has gotten to the point where we have no options. Of course the ideal position is one as a new grad in a hospital, which I stated early. That is where I want to be. But at least for me in my area, there are no new grad jobs and no matter how hard I look they will not magically appear out of thin air. There will not be any more new grad openings in acute care until 2010 for me, and with no one else wanting to take a chance on a new grad in other settings, it has become frustrating beyond words. I am an older first time nurse with my own kids to put through college in a few years and I need to work. Relocation is not an option.

Anyway, the question I stated earlier was "...does anyone have a REAL solution to this unemployment problem that exists for us new grads?" And saying there are jobs out there if you only look is not an answer. It depends on the area of the country you live in, and my area has none for new grads right now, but I will keep looking every day until there are.

yep i agree and i disagree with morte.i know an "older",very experienced nurse who adviced me to look into home health care since not even one hospital wants to hire so that way i will prevent forgeting all the skills/theory i learned.now the nurse who made the suggestion about the home health care is an excellent and safe nurse and i know for a fact that she woud not recommend anything that would jeoperdize the pt safety and my license.she just believes in new grads unlike many other seasoned nurse or nurse recruiters...and i agree with you that ones the baby boomers start quiting their jobs the hospitals will be desperate to hire us...but then they can shove it up down their....

i wouldn't go into home care for the same reasons that i wouldn't work for an agency. i would never think about being on my own in someone's home without at least 1 or 2 years acute care med/surg experience first. i am not experienced enough to make those life an death decisions in the seclusion of one's home. vna won't hire new grads for that same reason, so there is another option out for us new grads. lack of experience pretty much excludes us from employment for any area that is not hospital based preceptor training.

i understand your frustration, as i have had my moments of wishing i never bothered to work my behind off for the past 3 and a half years to get my nursing degree.